After weeks of rumours and speculation, JP Cornford has announced that he will return to cricket at Marcus E Curnow’s 40 BIG BASH on September 10 & 11. After struggling with long-term injury and a little-known-about gambling addiction, Cornford has stated that he now feels ready again in body and mind to do battle at 22 yards:

“What better place to wield the willow again than amongst the cloud of witnesses who will be gathering for the legendary Marcus E Curnow’s 40 BIG BASH. This will be a clash of the titans, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world”.

Bookies have ruthlessly predicted a dismal duck for Cornford’s first innings back, but Cornford himself is more optimistic:

“I’m just looking to play my natural game, take each ball as it comes, back myself and have fun. If I can spend half an hour out there, accumulate 8 or 9 runs, some of them off the bat, and still walk the next day, I’ll be happy.”

Despite damaging rumours about his after hours conduct, Cornford has confirmed that he will stay for the evening celebrations.

For interviews, contact marcus@goodcricket.com.au

Curnow and Cornford Jan 2002. Curnow: "We're batting at 'the G', do you think you could have at least put your thigh pad on properly?" Cornford: "A least my pads are white!"

I found this on the Sunshine Heights CC Annual Report 2008-9 and smiled about my memories of one of those ‘first vs. last’ encounters that good cricket is all about! -Marcus 🙂

Round 4 saw us on the road again and getting a bit of a habit to Robert Barrett playing Barkly St Uniting (First v Last). After a flying start with the bat our top 3 batsmen had us looking at 300 with a quick out field, Jakovich 32, Andrew 64 and once again Barnard 31 and the team 2/130 after 22 over’s, then a slow partnership, me getting run out on 25 and not happy throwing my bat we collapsed with 3 quick wickets in succession making 8/180 (at least 30/40 runs short of what we needed). We got 3 early wickets but the 4th wicket out played us putting on 70 run partnership and captain finishing us off with a fine 85 and 3 over’s to spare and clearly out played us.

Credo Cricket… it stands for ‘cricket you can believe in’… ‘very believable cricket’… for weeks we have not known exactly what to blog in response to the ‘spot fixing’ scandal that has felt like such a kick in the guts for any concept of good cricket all round.

In the face of human tragedy and disillusionment folk ballads have always said it best!

We truly love a sport than can inspire such earnest dagginess and make us shed a tear in our beer!